The Number of the Beast
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The Number of the Beast
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About this listen
The wickedest, most wonderful science-fiction story ever created in our - or any - time. Anything can begin at a party in California - and everything does in this bold masterwork by a grand master of science fiction.
When four supremely sensual and unspeakably cerebral humans - two male, two female - find themselves under attack from aliens who want their awesome quantum breakthrough, they take to the skies - and zoom into the cosmos on a rocket roller-coaster ride of adventure, danger, ecstasy, and peril.
Robert A. Heinlein (1907-1988) was the dominant science-fiction writer of the modern era, a writer whose influence on the field was immense. He won science fiction's Hugo Award for best novel four times.
©1980 Robert A. Heinlein (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
“One of the grand masters of science fiction.” (Wall Street Journal)
“The most influential science fiction writer of all time!” (Locus)
“[A story] about two men and two women in a time-machine safari through this and other universes. But describing The Number of the Beast thus is like saying Moby-Dick is about a one-legged guy trying to catch a fish.” (National Review)
Would you consider the audio edition of The Number of the Beast to be better than the print version?
Much BetterIf you’ve listened to books by Robert A. Heinlein before, how does this one compare?
A bit too technical - I could have done without all the mathsWhat about the narrators’s performance did you like?
doing this as separate narrators per person fitted the book exactly and it ran very smoothly. very well done.Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
mainly irritation at all the wrangling about who was "Captain"Any additional comments?
I have had this book in my to listen to pile for a fair while but was a bit nervous about playing it mainly because I did not want to be disappointed as I had re-read the book and found it very hard going. Not to worry ~ I thoroughly enjoyed it (mostly) but all 4 could have done with a good slap at times.Very well done
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Not Bob's best but the narration didn't help.
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I also found it slow and lacking interest at times, although it did seem to get better later on in that regard.
Overall it was worth listening to though, although I much preferred some of the others by Heinlein.
Variable - slow in places
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What did you like best about The Number of the Beast? What did you like least?
This book has some really good use of language, discussions of theories and I loved how the story switched between characters. I found the narrators ok but not amazing. This is normally enough for me to love a story but I found the whole thing a struggle. It felt long, slow and the only reason I stuck with it until the end was out of some reverence to the author and the hope that it would get much better. The early parts of the book (earth and mars) were really good but anything after chapter 38 became a chore.I really cannot put my finger on what might have been my least favorite parts I am guessing its just the book wasn’t a good fit for me. As a result of haven’t given the story as a whole a low score.
What was one of the most memorable moments of The Number of the Beast?
The best part of the book would have to be the whole mars British vs Russian thing. I would this part of the book the most enthralling. The characters where great and the way the plot worked really kept me going.What aspect of the narrators’s performance might you have changed?
the narrators were good and worked well together, some of the males performance seemed to be a bit lacking in enthusiasm from time to time and didn’t always fit the mood of the story.Could you see The Number of the Beast being made into a movie or a TV series? Who would the stars be?
it could be done and if made faster i would find it entertainingAny additional comments?
this book has made me down load john carter of earth and given me a list of other books to down load. all of which were mentioned in this book. i hope once i have listened to or read these that i will return to the number of the beast and find it more enjoyable.I struggled with this one
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Where does The Number of the Beast rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
For me it is high up there, BUT I am a mad fan of Robert E Heinlein, and have read it in paperback also.Who was your favorite character and why?
Deety. And the Beast (well his cameo role). And Lazarus Long making his much loved appearance.Any additional comments?
Its a complex book, and a lot of "dialogue" going around in circles, often arguing about abstract mathematical concepts, or tiny errors of conversation which the characters keep trying to trick each other or point out the other persons mistake... BUT if you know Heinlein, you will get it and love it. Sci Fi and Heinlein fans will devour it. But if you stumble across it unprepared, you may sink under the pages of mathematical arguments.. I loved it.I loved it - but I am a fan boy
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